


We Know What We Are

by nettaborealis



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Caroline Forbes is an Original, Caroline Forbes is Ástríðr Erlingrdóttir, Davina Claire is Dava, Davina Claire is an Original, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Hope Mikaelson is an Original, Hope is Vætta Niklausdóttir, I SWEAR IT'S CAROLINE, One Big Happy Family, One Big Messed Up Family, Protective Caroline Forbes, SHE JUST HAS A NORSE NAME, i changed some canon names a bit but only to try to make them more realistic to the time, in which the Originals had a life before they turned, lol nope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29514519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nettaborealis/pseuds/nettaborealis
Summary: Ástríðr found them. The pain they felt when Mikael ran them through with his sword was nothing compared to that caused by her scathing stare, or the agony in her and Niklaus’ eyes when they saw the horror their daughter had wrought.But even they could not resist that sweet, sweet scent.They painted the town red.
Relationships: Caroline Forbes/Klaus Mikaelson, Davina Claire/Kol Mikaelson, Finn Mikaelson & remaining ever the dullard
Kudos: 14





	We Know What We Are

**Author's Note:**

> Caroline Forbes is Ástríðr Erlingrdóttir  
> Hope is Vætta Niklausdóttir  
> Davina Claire is Dava

We know what we are,

But not what we may be.

> -William Shakespeare

"Köhl, are you quite done?”

“Oh, bother, Elijah!” Köhl sighed as the body of his victim fell to the ground with a _thump_. “Is all of this truly necessary?”

“Brother, the road is a major thoroughfare. If the bodies are found, word of our presence will spread to Mikael.” Elijah recited.

Ástríðr looked up from her place beside her husband, who held a cold, dead hand, his ocean blue eyes unfocused.

“You need not be so cruel to them,” she said softly. “They were people, too, more human than we are. They did not deserve this fate.”

Niklaus inhaled sharply. Ástríðr gently untangled his fingers from those of the corpse. She helped him to his feet, and her head rested on his shoulder, but they turned at the sound of their daughter’s giggles. The little girl’s attention, which had previously been occupied by her uncles, had been stolen by the only slightly disturbed horses that stood nearby.

“Pretty horsey, Daddy. I touch her?”

Niklaus’ lips twitched, and he scooped his daughter up. “Of course. Come here, Vætta.”

“Sweet little thing,” Rebekah murmured.

Vætta, now seated on the back of a lovely brown horse, beamed. “Mummy! Horsey! You like horsies.” 

“Yes, starling.” Ástríðr rushed to the girl’s side with strange urgency. “Here, pet them like this.”

Köhl complained, “We have run through autumn and winter, through sleet and snow. Are we cursed to forever live in fear of our father?”

“I should say yes, sadly.”

“Finnr, please.” Elijah snapped.

“Do we have any idea where we're running to next?” Rebekah asked hopelessly.

“Why not just do what we've all thought of doing?” Köhl demanded. “Split up!”

Ástríðr whipped around, eyes flashing. “We stay together to protect my daughter!”

Elijah shouted, “We swore a vow!”

Köhl stepped up. “It would be better to split up and stay hidden than prance across Europe, killing as we go. I don’t desire separation any more than you do, Niklaus, but we would be safer that way.”

When Ástríðr lashed out, Dava leapt forward, her small form almost laughable when she glared up at her brothers. “Do you think that I want Vætta to grow up any way but with the entirety of her family? We all adore her, but she would be safe, you know this. We would attract less attention should we part.”

Finnr was the first to answer. “Perhaps the lovebirds are right.”

“Thank you, Finnr! Yeah, I've always said eldest is the most intelligent.”

“Stop talking, Köhl! I take no joy in our assent, but I do wish to sleep in a bed, to bathe in a bath, to feed of proper food.”

Elijah shook his head. “No, brother. Niklaus is right. We made a vow.”

Little Vætta leaned against the horse’s neck, stroking it with tenderness. Her huge blue eyes, so much like her father’s, drifted over her aunts and uncles. “Family.” she said softly.

The others looked at Vætta, all silent, until Elijah approached her, smiling kindly. He picked her up, and she patted his head. She was approaching her fourth winter, but was positively tiny for her age, and fit easily in his arms. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and Elijah’s eyes bore deep into his siblings.

“Family above all.” he said. There was no question in his voice.

“…always and forever.”

“Brother,” Köhl said, voice dripping with mordancy and false cheer, “I wish to venture out and rejoin civilization, if only for a day. Do I have your blessing, O purveyor of unity, ruler of fiends?”

Elijah’s dark eyes fell on his brother. “No.”

Köhl threw his hands in the air. “Truly, Elijah? Now you are holding me hostage? You do remember that Dava and I are courting. I should be able to bring her somewhere, lest she tire of our family’s insanity.”

“I do not wish to keep Dava from reprieve.” Elijah said, “But you see, Köhl, I do not wish for you to leave, either.”

“Why?” Köhl demanded.

“My reason, brother, is simple; I do not trust you. You crave independence, and I do not have faith that you will stay here of your own violations. Even if another of our siblings went with you, you would gladly fight them for a chance to leave.” Elijah paused. “Which is why I will allow you to go… if Vætta accompanies you.”

So Köhl and Dava brought their niece into the nearby village, swinging her over the bumps and pebbles. When she caught her foot on a stray rock and sliced her milky cheek, Vætta only laughed. She jumped back up and leapt, wrapping her arms around Köhl's neck in midair. Dava giggled and helped her sit on his shoulders. She held his long hair like the reins of a horse.

Köhl scowled, and Dava grinned.

“Go, go, horsey!” Vætta crowed, yanking at her uncle’s hair.

Köhl’s lips tugged, and he fought the urge to let his suppressed smile bloom into a grin.

The three happily explored the village, free of worry for the first time since they tasted blood on their lips. Of course, one fear echoed in Köhl and Dava’s ears; what Niklaus, but more specifically, Ástríðr, would do to them if their daughter came back with even a scratch. Thankfully, the cut on Vætta’s delicate face had long healed, leaving only a faint smudge of blood, which Köhl quickly wiped away.

While Vætta sang and laughed in her native Norse, her uncle and aunt strolled through the street, arm in arm. They were again among humans, and that made them smile.

(Once, Vætta’s bones began to crack, and her ears began to lengthen, but Köhl tamed the wolf and they continued on their way.)

Soon, Vætta climbed down from Köhl’s shoulders. She skipped around the street, never starting far, earning greetings and chuckles from the villagers she passed. When she grew bored, she danced back, and was lifted up so she could wrap herself in Dava’s indigo shawl and rest her head on her shoulder.

Far too soon, the sun began to lower, and though the pair knew they should return to their family, they decided to linger in the hamlet for a few moments more. Vætta, now tired from a long day of adventure, fell behind. Köhl and Dava did not notice. When a gray-haired man, blood laced with alcohol, knuckles bruised from a bar fight, stumbled out into the road, they did not notice.

When the smell of fresh blood reached them, they whipped around and tore Vætta away from the man.

Then they froze.

When the smell of fresh blood-

_Blood._

Ástríðr found them. The pain they felt when Mikael ran them through with his sword was nothing compared to that caused by her scathing stare, or the agony in her and Niklaus’ eyes when they saw the horror their daughter had wrought.

But even they could not resist that sweet, sweet scent.

They painted the town red.

Hours later and miles away, Ástríðr shook silently in her husband’s arms while Vætta slumbered between them. Her tear-stained face and despairing eyes of jade pleaded for comfort, but Niklaus could offer none. He pressed his shaking hands against the ground, praying for a miracle, knowing that none would come. 

(And that when he lifted his hands, the blood would still be there.)

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment.


End file.
